Play School
by ohprongs
Summary: "1 2 3 4/ready to play?/what's the day?/it's not your day, my darling/it's not your day today". Hermione-centric free-verse during DH.


**A/N:** I had the idea for this while watching kids TV with my sister. Originally it was going to be Lily/James because _Play School_*, the show I've focussed on, started in the 60s but I write so much Jily that I wanted to branch out and do something different. So here it is.

*_Play School_ was a British children's TV programme that ran from the late-1960s to mid-1980s. It featured many toys including Jemima, Hamble, Humpty and Big Ted and Little Ted Bear, as well as an infamous beginning: "A house, with a door, windows; 1 2 3 4; ready to play? What's the day? It's…(insert day here)." Notable presenters of the show include Johnny Ball and Floella Benjamin, both of whom I've met. Not because of a _Play School_ obsession, though.

**Disclaimer:** insert disclaimer here. No. I can't.

_Play School_ belongs to the BBC, Johnny and Floella belong to themselves, and the image I found on google from the blog _memoirs with a glass of champagne _and as always, Harry Potter belongs to the fabulous Jo Rowling.

* * *

**Play School**

or

**Imagine**

* * *

.

with the flick of a switch, the press of a button

it's _play school_!

.

a house

with a door;

windows;

1 2 3 4

ready to play?

what's the day?

it's

not your day, my darling

it's not your day today

you're hermione

her-mi-o-ne

and you're built for words and writing and sums and _spells_

not glory and notability

so it's not your day

(it's never your day)

.

B I G ted and

little ted

together, best friends:

you do have _friends_, don't you, Hermione?

that's what they ask; scathing

but you do

it's just that your friends are inside your head

(and suddenly they're there in front of you, your own big ted and little ted and you're so happy you could squeal with childish joy but you don't)

.

a house

with a door;

windows;

1 2 3 4

ready to play?

.

pretty jemima

(your favourite one)

the sweet ragdoll with the long long legs like you know you should have

it doesn't matter that they're red and white and stripy

it doesn't matter she's a doll

it doesn't

and then there she is, your own jemima – there – there!

don't let her go

but she loves big ted and little ted, like you

so she's not going anywhere

.

a house

with a door;

windows;

1 2 3 4

ready to play?

.

foolish humpty

well; he had a great

f

a

l

l

and no one could pick up his pieces and put him together again, could they?

not even you with your magic wand and spello-tape

but you gathered the shards of that little humpty dumpty

and held them closer in your heart than you would perhaps dare to let yourself acknowledge

(because that fall did you a favour)

.

a house

with a door;

windows;

1 2 3 4

ready to play?

.

poppy

pretty poppy

she replaced poor hamble

perfect pretty poppy

you know the feeling

what you wouldn't give to pop poppy right off the shelf and into the toy box

but you can't

because poppy is perfect popular pretty poppy

and so you sit with little ted

and you cry

.

a house

with a door;

windows;

1 2 3 4

ready to play?

what's the day?

it's a new day today

a new day is dawning

a day of blood and horror and sacrifice

you can sense it;

all of you.

big ted and little ted: they're splitting at the seams

falling apart

and jemima: she's at home, alone and waiting

waiting

and humpty: he's still irretrievably gone

broken

and poppy: she's still there, hanging on by a thread

just

.

you lost your innocence a long time ago, my dear

now it's time to put away the toys

turn of the tv

and step outside

.

a house

with a door;

windows;

1 2 3 4

ready to play?

what's the day?

.

it's your day

* * *

**In case any of you are confused: Hermione is, surprisingly, Hermione; Harry and Ron are Big Ted and Little Ted (let's just keep this clean, kids); Jemima is Ginny; Draco is Humpty Dumpty and Lavender is Poppy (in that one Hermione becomes Hamble).**

**So, yeah.**

**Oh, and the dawning day is 2****nd**** May, the Battle of Hogwarts.**

**Love it? Hate it? Reviews are very much appreciated.**


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